Roberto Cavalli / Fall 2013 RTW

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Roberto Cavalli has never been one to shy away from technology, and has made digital imaging a particularly exuberant hallmark of his prints. Lately though, the Italian designer has been craving a more artisanal approach to his work, and that old-world nostalgia led him back to the drawing board—or more specifically, the painter’s easel. Using the artwork of sixteenth-century masters like Caravaggio and Rubens as a springboard, Cavalli created a series of floral and baroque tableaux that were woven into the new collection. His motifs were often re-created by hand on the clothes, and those sitting in the front row today were able to trace the colorful brushstrokes across the back of a sleek leather blazer, for example. Elsewhere the patterns were embedded into fabrics in more tactile ways—case in point, the two devoré velvet tuxedo suits that came down the runway in royal blue and purple.

Like several other designers this season, Cavalli and his wife and creative partner Eva have been pondering the idea of modern armor. He sought the help of local centuries-old Florentine ateliers to put his ideas into action, incorporating fur and leather into an intricate chain mail on an army of models in shimmering black thigh-grazing minidresses. That darker mood is in keeping with what we’ve seen so far, although ultimately his vision and craftwork were filtered through a romantic lens: Unravel the cubist latticework on pleated miniskirts, and his soft petal-strewn paintings reappear.